Flash question....

I don't know if there is a better section for this or not.......however I have a D2X and a SB800 with the SC29 cord. I'm finding this is a bit cumbersome as it doesn't allow me to place the flash far enough away from the camera body. I'd like some additional distance plus the cord is getting in the way a bit.

So my question is would I be just as well off getting a second flash and firing it as a slave(ie another 800 or 600), or should I consider one of the wireless triggers. As I haven't played with flashes much, I'm not sure what benefit the 3rd party triggers have going for them vs. just buying a 2nd flash unit and using it as a slave??

the sb800 is really an on the camera flash, if you place it away from the camera. you probably need additional light source.

sb29 cord has an af assist indicator, i guess this is why you are using that cord?

additional sb800's can be fired remotely, by the first , using the cord, will accomplish this.

don't know if this helps

marc

if you use pocket wizard to fire flash, you need 2 of them, a transmiter on camera and receiver attached to remote flash, probably much more than another sb800, however more flexible, because now you can trigger by radio not ir. or line of sight.
pocket wizards can also be used with many other lighting possibilities

One SB-800 on camera or attached to one of the SC cords can control up to 8 additional Remote (no cords) SB-800s or SB-600s. Using 1 as main and one as fill works very well. See the instruction book for how to set them up. Amazing flexibility with the Nikon CLS.

The reason for the distance, is in this last case I was taking a family portrait. I had fairly good lighting on the faces as it was outside, but I wanted a side light to remove some of the shadows. With the cord, I wasn't able to get quite far enough to the side, given the camera was directly in front of the people being photographed.....hope that makes sense. I would have wanted the flash about 8 feet from the camera, at least in this case. So if you think of a "right triangle", the subjects were at the top, the camera at the bottom, and the flash out to one side.......(and actually a bit forward).

Based on what has been said, other than the added benefit of RF with the wizards, I should be able to do everything I want by merely adding an additional Nikon flash...........unless I'm missing something.

You may be interested in the upcoming SU-800, which appears to be a wireless trigger that works with the creative lighting system. It was announced along with the D200. It will control multiple off camera SB-800s and SB-600s. The big question I have about it is---how much will it hurt the wallet? If it's too much, you could buy one or more SB-600s ($185 @ B&H) since you already have the 800 (required for controlling flash).

I have used my 800 on my D2h to trigger a 600. It works pretty well.

OTOH, your sig line says you have a D70. You can use its built-in flash to trigger the SB-800 remotely. I haven't tried it, so I'm not sure exactly how. It should be in either the flash or the camera's manual.

I never thought of using the D70 to fire the SB800, what a great idea. This will help testing the angles and distances when using the SB800.......and will validate staying with just flashes or having to go to something like the wizards using a RF signal.

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